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Archive for the ‘Employee Engagement’ Category

Do you feel underappreciated? You see, we give what we want and so if you’re feeling underappreciated, I’ve got a challenge for you. What if, from now on, you began to appreciate? What if you said to your team members, “I really appreciate how you always do everything on time. I always appreciate how you always hit your numbers. I really appreciate how you always bring a positive, can-do attitude to everything that you do.”? That’d be a cool thing to do, right?

And what if you appreciated your boss? You see, bosses don’t have their carpeting worn out by people who are walking in to appreciate them. And yet, when you create a positive influence on your boss and let them know that you appreciate the kind things they do, the guidance you give, the hard conversations they have with you because they’re coming from a place of love, know that they’ll appreciate you a whole lot more because they’ll feel like you’re into the relationship.

So how can you build your relationships by bringing more appreciation to all your teammates, to your supervisor and in your personal life as well? It’s going to be fun trying, isn’t it?

It’s easy to fall into the habit of doing just what’s required and no more. I mean, if they wanted more, they would have asked for it, right?

Sure.

Perhaps stop thinking about it as having a job. You don’t have a job. Instead, you have responsibilities. And if you want to keep that job, you need to meet and exceed those responsibilities. That is the game.

But let me ask you this: Do you pay the minimum amount due on your credit cards each month? If you do, you might want to take a close look at your next statement. Give the minimum and it can take seven or ten or twelve years to pay off the balance.

But if you pay MORE than the minimum, you’ll polish it off in a fraction of that time—and pay a whole lot less.

Now apply the same logic to your job. If you’re just doing the minimum, you might be digging yourself a hole. If you think it’s okay to have your coat on at 4:59 every afternoon, for example, you might be the first one out the door in a way you DON’T want.

Instead, make a point of exceeding the requirements of your job. Blowing past expectations is the best way to make yourself irreplaceable.

When winners are studied—in sports, business, or any other area of life—they consistently display the same attitudes and practices. One of the most important is working or playing like their lives depend on it.

For a winner in sports, every practice, every game, and every action taken is intensely committed.

And what about the business world? A survey measuring efficiency in the workplace found that the average worker operates at about 50 percent capacity.

Worse yet, the average manager uses only 30 percent of his or her time in an effective manner.

Winners understand that every moment, every transaction, and every decision is an opportunity to score big, whether you’re on the football field, in the board room, or playing the game of life… play big!

Researchers are learning more all the time about the importance of feeling progress toward our workplace goals. It’s called the Progress Principle, and it’s fast becoming a big part of the conversation about employee engagement. In fact, the Harvard Business Reviews research shows it is the most important motivator.

Multiple studies have shown that a feeling of progress in our work is at or near the top in motivation—way ahead of traditional incentives like raises and bonuses.

But not everyone is paying attention. In a survey that asked managers to rank five employee motivators, the feeling of progress came in dead last.

Let your competition pour money into more expensive motivators. A feeling of progress costs little or nothing. Break large projects into smaller benchmarks, and celebrate each step as it’s achieved. It’s as simple as that.

It’s yet another opportunity for those who are paying attention to pull ahead of the pack.

Bosses might like sports, and they might not. They may or may not like water-skiing or Mexican food or romantic comedies. People vary.

But there’s one thing I can pretty much guarantee your boss does not like—surprises.

I don’t mean you shouldn’t throw a surprise party or bring flowers. I’m talking about the kind of surprise that requires sudden defensive action from the boss—the kind that doesn’t give enough time for the planning and strategizing that bosses are paid to do. THAT kind of surprise is the kind they absolutely hate.

That’s one of many reasons you should over-communicate with your boss whenever possible. At the beginning of a project or initiative, get clear directions about the results and processes he or she expects.

Then as you work, report frequently on where you are in the process, what your struggles are, and what you’re doing to overcome them.

Never leave out the bad news, your struggles and roadblocks. A manager who only hears happy-happy-joy-joy will quickly turn suspicious. A boss I had in my twenties used to say, “Tell me the good news, tell me the bad news…but don’t EVER surprise me.” I didn’t—and as a result, he never micromanaged my work.

Daily and weekly reporting about where you are compared to your work plan will earn trust, and everybody will be happy.